Markham votes yes to voting in York's regional chair

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 12, 2015
By Amanda Persico

A majority of Markham councillors have voted in favour of electing the York Region chairperson.

A motion, put forward by ward councillor Karen Rea, puts the city’s support squarely behind Bill 42 and calls on the province to get the ball moving in time for the 2018 municipal election.

The motion passed 9-4 in a recorded vote.

Councillors Alan Ho, Don Hamilton, Karen Rea, Colin Campbell, Logan Kanapathi and Alex Chiu along with Regional Councillors Jim Jones, Joe Li and Nirmala Armstrong voted in favour.

Mayor Frank Scarpitti, Regional Councillor Jack Heath and Thornhill Councillor Valerie Burke voted against the motion.

Councillor Amanda Collucci abstained, which under the Municipal Act counts as a vote against.

Rea’s motion goes hand-in-hand with Li’s motion at the regional level, to be debated Nov. 19.

In order to change the makeup of regional council, a triple majority is required. That means, a majority of regional council, a majority of municipalities and of those municipalities, they must represent a majority of York Region residents.

Markham as a whole represents about a third of York Region’s population.

“How can we spend billions of dollars to promote the democratic system in the Middle East but still practice hypocrisy in our backyard,” Li said. “We have to lead by example.”

There is growing support in the region, with motions coming before Whitchurch-Stouffville, Aurora and Richmond Hill local councils, he added.

During a debate on Rea’s motion, the current system of appointing the regional chairperson was referred to as a small circle of voters where back-door trading takes place.

“We hear a lot of ‘You support me on this and I support you on that’ type of deals,” said Robert Mok, representing the Markham Citizens Coalition for Responsive Government.

“This is just a way for mayors and councillors to push their own agendas. We need to eliminate the horse trading.”
Others disagreed.

“More elections doesn’t improve democracy,” said resident Leon Drummer.

It was suggested electing a chairperson opens up a Pandora’s box when it comes to campaign support, which could come from special interest groups and developers.

Regional Councillor and deputy mayor Jack Heath agreed. Having a regional chairperson backed by heavy development could pose a problem since the region does not deal with issues such as parks or greenspace.

But local mayors are also supported by development, argued Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong.

There has been movement to eliminate local powers over items such as planning, waste management, fire services and water and wastewater, Heath argued.

“Government should be close to the people,” he said. “We don’t want these services to disappear. There would be a power shift from Markham to the region.”

But other councillors argued power already sits in the hands of the chairperson, so the position should be made accountable.

“The chairperson is a nobody before regional council appoints him,” said Regional Councillor Jim Jones. “Then he becomes the most powerful politician. If he’s elected, he can’t kowtow to any member of (regional) council.”